The invention relates to a mobile electric appliance comprising an appliance housing having at least one battery bay for accommodating a battery with at least one voltage-generating cell and a battery-side charge status indicator, an electric consumer, a power connector as well as a charging device for charging the at least one battery. In addition, the invention relates to a battery comprising a battery housing, at least one voltage-generating cell arranged in the battery housing, a battery-side electronic circuit arranged in the battery housing for determining the charge status of the at least one cell, a battery-side charge status indicator arranged on the battery housing and a switch arranged on the battery housing for activating the battery-side electronic circuit and/or the battery-side charge status indicator. Finally, the invention relates to a set comprising at least one mobile electric appliance and an appropriate battery for it.
One thing users of mobile, battery-operated devices desire is the most convenient possible display of the charge status of an accumulator (also known colloquially as a “battery”) provided for operating the device. Most of the time, the charge status is determined and displayed by the device itself. However, batteries deviating from this are also known that are able to display the charge status independently.
A battery for a hand power tool is disclosed in German Patent Document No. DE 10 2005 000 135 A1. This battery features a housing accommodating several battery cells and on which coupling means, which are externally accessible and electrically connected to the battery cells, are provided. In addition, the battery includes a charge status indicator, which can be activated by an externally accessible switch and which displays the charge status of the battery cells. The switch in this case is formed by actuating means of a locking mechanism of the battery.
Moreover, a portable computer is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,164 A, which comprises a battery bay and a battery situated therein. The battery has a charge status indicator which is also visible through a viewing window in the computer's housing when the battery is inserted. The battery has a switch to activate the charge status indicator, which may also be actuated externally with the aid of a knob arranged on the computer. As a result, the charge status of a battery situated in the bay may be determined without the battery having to be removed from the bay.
Finally, a set is known from European Patent Document No. EP 1 419 723 B1 comprising a vacuum cleaner, which may be operated both when connected to the power supply system as well as with batteries. In addition, the batteries may also be used in different electric hand-held devices.
The disadvantage of the known solutions, for example the solution in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,164 A, is that the viewing window provided there as well as the knob must be aligned precisely with the charge status indicator and the switch on the battery. On the one hand, incorrect operation can easily lead to a situation where the charge status cannot be queried, for example if the knob in question is not precisely aligned with the switch. On the other hand, the design of the battery must be precisely coordinated with the design of the device being operated. As a result, these types of batteries are not universally useable.
Therefore, the object of the invention is creating an improved mobile electric appliance, an improved battery, and an improved set. In particular, the interchangeability of the batteries is improved and querying the charge status of the same is facilitated.
According to the invention, this object is attained with a mobile electric appliance of the type cited at the outset comprising means for detecting the charge status of the at least one battery and a device-side charge status indicator arranged on the mobile electric appliance. The term “mobile electric appliance” is understood as an electric appliance which can be moved or displaced from one workplace to another workplace even when in operation.
The object of the invention is also attained with a battery of the type cited at the outset comprising an interface, which is prepared to relay the charge status determined to an external processing unit.
Finally, the object of the invention is attained by a set comprising at least one mobile electric appliance according to the invention and an interchangeable, advantageously inventive battery.
This is achieved according to the invention in that the charge status may be displayed both independently on the battery itself as well as by the device being operated. In doing so, the disadvantages mentioned, such as, for example, malfunctions with incorrect alignment of the battery in the device being operated and poor interchangeability of batteries, are overcome. In contrast to this, the arrangement of battery-side switches and battery-side charge status indicators in the case of the invention is independent of the device being operated, because the latter has an its own additional charge status indicator. The user of the mobile device is also immediately able to see whether a battery is inserted into the battery bay without having to open a cover of the battery bay.
The display of the charge status may be accomplished with the use of illuminating means or even mechanically as a bar representation. The illuminating means may be designed to be both round as well as square, rectangular and triangular.
The term “battery bay” should be understood within the scope of the invention as any type of device in which a battery may be inserted or introduced for the purpose of transferring energy.
Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are disclosed in the description in conjunction with the figures.
It is especially advantageous if the means for detecting the charge status are formed by a device-side electronic circuit arranged in the mobile electric appliance, which is connected electrically to the at least one voltage-generating cell. In the case of this variant of the invention, no other connectors are necessary besides those that are present anyway to supply the device in question. Thus, it is possible to implement the invention in reality in an especially simple manner, in particular because existing batteries may continue to be used unchanged.
It is also especially advantageous if the means for detecting the charge status are formed by an interface to a battery situated in the battery bay, wherein the battery includes a battery-side electronic circuit for determining the charge status of the at least one cell and wherein the interface is prepared to receive the charge status determined by the cited first electronic circuit. In the case of this variant of the invention, the device-side electronic circuit may be kept relatively simple, because the charge status of the battery is determined per se by the battery-side electronic circuit. For example, electrical interfaces, optical interfaces or radio interfaces may be used for data transmission (i.e., for transmitting the charge status determined) between the device-side electronic circuit and the battery-side electronic circuit.
It is beneficial if the mobile electric appliance includes a controller, which is prepared to activate the device-side charge status indicator when the electric appliance is being operated by the battery. In this way, a user is always able to read the charge status, or the remaining run-time of the device being operated. For example, the controller may be integrated into a central device controller or into the charging device.
It is also beneficial if the mobile electric appliance includes a controller, which is prepared to deactivate the device-side charge status indicator when the electric appliance is being operated by the power supply system. In this way, electrical energy may be saved, because the charge status is less relevant during operation by the power supply system. A button may be provided as an option which may be used to query the charge status also manually as needed.
It is also beneficial if the mobile electric appliance includes a controller, which is prepared to deactivate the device-side charge status indicator when the electric appliance is switched off. In this state as well, the charge status of the batteries is normally of less interest, which is the reason why the charge status indicator is deactivated for the purpose of saving energy. In this case as well, an optional button may be provided which may be used to query the charge status also manually as needed.
It is also advantageous if the mobile electric appliance is configured as a vacuum cleaner. This is an advantage in particular if the vacuum cleaner is part of a set, which also includes at least one electric hand-held device as well as several batteries that are interchangeable between the at least one electric hand-held device and the at least one mobile electric appliance. Most of the time, a vacuum cleaner is made of a movable base part and a suction nozzle connected therewith via a suction hose. Because the base part normally does not have to be lifted during vacuuming but is merely pulled along behind, a vacuum cleaner is very well suited as a central charging station for the relatively heavy batteries. In this way, it is possible for batteries to be charged conveniently at the construction site or in the household. On the one hand, an empty battery of an electric hand-held device (e.g., cordless screwdriver, cordless drill, cordless saw, cordless grinder, cordless planer, cordless table vacuum cleaner, cordless search lamp, cordless radio, etc.) may be interchanged for a fully charged one from the vacuum cleaner. On the other hand, the vacuum cleaner may also be operated independently, i.e., without being connected to the electric supply system. Because of the measures according to the invention, the charge status of a battery is always visible, both when it is inserted into the mobile electric appliance as well as when the battery is removed. The advantage of the invention is especially striking in this case. However, these advantages are not limited to vacuum cleaners, but also apply to additional displaceable or moveable devices or devices whose base part is only moved comparatively seldom. Another example of such a device is a high-pressure cleaner.
It is noted at this point that the variants listed for the mobile electric appliance according to the invention and the resulting advantages also apply correspondingly to the battery according to the invention as well as to the set according to the invention and vice versa.
The above-mentioned embodiments and further developments of the invention may be combined in any manner.
The present invention is explained in more detail in the following on the basis of the exemplary embodiments indicated in the schematic figures.